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Monthly Archives: December 2006

After completing our own concert two weekends ago, this past week/weekend was *supposed* to be time to recover and get chores done. Nature had a different plan.

First, our power went out all day Wednesday after a windstorm had knocked down a tree on the main road we take to get to our house. The power came back on at 10:30 PM Wednesday only to be knocked out again by 5 PM on Thursday. This time it was a hell of a storm. Perhaps you’ve read about it?

Thursday afternoon, I made my way home on flooded roads from Redmond, and, while I was at Costco, the power went out. I could see the transformers exploding all over the hill. I drove home in complete darkness, except for the red tailights in front of me.

Of course, the power was already out at our house by the time I got home. I spent the first few hours of the storm home alone as the Sweetie was playing the Seattle Women’s Chorus show. I called him backstage after a part of a tree hit the house and I was scared witless (no major damage, thank goodness).

After he got home safely (thank a higher power of your choice), we went to bed, only to move into another bedroom when the shrapnel began hitting our windows and we saw trees falling into the wetlands beside our house. We figured if a tree was coming into the house, it would come through our room.

We survived, the house survived, and we were lucky enough to find a hotel room for the next two nights near where he was playing the show. Our power came back sometime Sunday afternoon; we were lucky. As I write this, many friends are still without, and it seems it’s going to be a bit of a chilly Christmas.

I’m fed up with Christmas. I don’t enjoy the shopping, the card sending, or the songs. I do enjoy receiving cards, but it would be nice if we all found an excuse to correspond the rest of the year. I’m so tired of throwing money at this holiday – not because I don’t like giving – I do, really, when I find a gift I really want to give someone. However, most of the time the people with whom I exchange have what they need (as do I). I’d prefer to agree to give money to charity, but I don’t think it would fly.

However, I do feel blessed (by whom, I’m not sure, but that’s another story) to have my home, my husband, my friends, my life. I’m very lucky indeed, and if this time of year makes me pause to reflect on all of that, I guess it’s not so bad.

The Seattle Choral Company continues their 25th Anniversary Year this holiday season with Mozart’s Messiah, featuring Handel’s beloved oratorio, Messiah, as re-orchestrated by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. SCC Artistic Director, Fred Coleman, will conduct the eighty voices of the Seattle Choral Company along with full orchestra and eight vocal soloists.

Mozart Encounters Handel

“This version of Messiah is a revelation. It gives us a glimpse of Handel’s era from the vantage point of the next generation. It is literally one great composer’s encounter with another. Mozart’s reworked orchestration succeeds because he is a masterful composer, who added his signature to Handel’s genius with restraint and reverence,” said SCC Artistic Director, Fred Coleman. “Don’t miss this chance to hear some refreshing new flavors added to traditional holiday fare.”